Strap in - it's going to be a bumpy ride! (+Super Lemon Alert!)

51. And Then… Together

(Mikhail POV)

We stood in the lobby outside the ballroom; Abe, Janine and I each secured by two Guardians. Jill was huddled on a chair inside the main doors crying quietly to herself. She wasn't considered a threat so her guard had gone back inside to assist Hans.

It wasn't the first time I'd been under arrest – there was that one time after graduation when Spiridon and I went out drinking in Bucharest – but I was more accustomed to catching the bad guy than being the one in handcuffs.

'Is this really necessary?' Janine protested as one of her guards fastened a set of metal cuffs tightly around her wrists. 'You know us. You know we would never stand against the captain unless there was a good reason. We were just protecting an innocent. We were just doing our job.'

'And we're just doing ours,' the young Guardian smirked, pleased with himself for managing to subdue the Great Janine Hathaway.

Janine held back curses, but Abe and I had fallen silent, trying to eavesdrop on the proceedings that could be heard through the half-closed doors.

'What on earth are you saying, Rose?' Tasha Ozera's voice cut through. 'Are you out of your mind?'

'I wish I was... but it's true. We both know it is. You killed Tatiana.'

There were gasps from the crowd and Abe flinched in shock.

'You knew about this?' he turned on me with an expression of disbelief.

'We got the ID from an Alchemist just over an hour ago,' I answered.

There was a hiss from Abe. 'The Guardians wouldn't let me in to see those tattooed bastards. I knew they were hiding something!' he muttered angrily. 'If it was Sydney Sage again I'll have her hide. She's far too slippery for my liking.'

'No. She was the one who helped us get the intel,' I said, trying to pacify the fuming man before returning my attention to the ballroom.

'You hated Tatiana for her age law and refusal to let Moroi fight,' Rose was saying, but then another voice I didn't recognise joined the argument.

'Half this Court hated Tatiana for that law. You among them,' a man cried out.

Rose wasn't going to be intimidated by anybody, jumping at the chance to lay out the facts. 'Yes, but I didn't have my bodyguard bribe a witness or attack Princess Dragomir. And don't pretend you didn't know the guy,' she warned Tasha. 'He was your bodyguard. You were seen together.'

'Rose, I can't even believe this is happening,' Tasha answered, a tinge of hurt in her voice, 'but if James did whatever you're talking about, then he acted alone.' There was a pause then Tasha raised her voice eloquently. 'I've always believed Rose was innocent. If James is the one responsible for this, then I'm more than happy to tell you whatever I know to clear Rose's name.'

It was a clever defence. Blaming a dead man was a low ploy but it might just let her get away with it. Come on Rose – think of something.

'But James couldn't have staked Tatiana,' Rose countered. 'He had an injured hand. It takes both hands for a Moroi to stake someone. I've seen it happen twice now. And I bet if you can get a straight answer out of Ethan Moore...'

'That little fink,' Janine hissed nearby. 'Guardian Moore has been sucking up to me ever since I arrived for the elections – if I find out he's had a hand in ruining my daughter's life, I'll see to it that he never works again.'

'Ssh!' Abe hissed, straining to hear what Rose was saying.

'James wasn't there the night Tatiana died, was he, Ethan?' Rose made her challenge. 'But Tasha was. She was in the queen's chambers – and you didn't report it.'

'Tasha wouldn't kill anyone,' came the weak reply. The fact that he didn't deny it was nearly as good as a confession – Hans would be able to get the rest later.

'Rose! Stop it!' a new voice cried out. Christian. He clearly couldn't believe his aunt was capable of such treachery.

But Vasilisa spoke up then, trying to bring the matter to a head. 'I know it's wrong... but if we used compulsion on the suspects...,' she began, but I couldn't hear the rest because there was another little drama brewing out in the lobby.

'Alright. I've heard enough,' Janine turned to her guards. 'You know as well as I do that the whole court is riled up about the issue of magic use at the moment,' she snapped. 'People are going to lash out at the princess for making a statement like that. We need to get inside and make sure she has protection. It's senseless having eight Guardians out here while the real person we need to be protecting is inside that ballroom.'

The cocky young Guardian who was restraining Janine grabbed her roughly by the shoulder, trying to assert his dominance, but the older female who was guarding Abe spoke up in agreement.

'She's right, Peter. Things are getting heated in there. Obviously we can't leave these three unguarded, but I'm sure we can manage with just one Guardian for each prisoner. You, you and you,' she indicated to Peter and two of the other guards, 'go in and see what you can do to help Hans.'

As the three Guardians returned to the ballroom a bitter voice filtered clearly through the open doorway. 'That's idiotic,' Christian nearly shouted. 'If Tasha wanted Lissa to be queen, why make that James guy attack her?'

He was answered by someone with a deep, Russian accent. 'Because no one was supposed to die,' Dimitri cut in to explain. 'Tasha didn't expect a Guardian to be with Princess Vasilisa. James was probably going to fake an attack and run... enough to generate sympathy and more support for Vasilisa. Which it certainly did – just a little more severely.'

Any reply Tasha might have made was lost in the sudden hum of discontent that rippled around the room. People were getting restless. They wanted a murderer to blame for the death of their queen – a few centuries ago they would have been clamouring for a lynching by now – but they weren't sure which woman was the real murderer. Rose or Tasha.

Rose spoke up one last time, seeing her window of opportunity closing. 'You can take me into custody, Hans, but don't you think you've got enough to take Tasha and Ethan in too?' she appealed.

She'd made a fair case. I only hoped it was enough.

Silence.

'Take Lady Ozera. And Moore. We'll question them,' Hans ordered.

Then the noise erupted, angry grunts soon giving way to fearful screams. Janine and I looked at one another in horror. It was our sworn duty to protect Moroi, and we were stuck out here – handcuffed and under guard – unable to perform the task we were trained to do.

'Rekha,' Janine hissed to the female Guardian who had listened to her before. 'You know me. You know I'm loyal to my charge and to the princess. You've got to let me in there. You've got to let me do my job.'

The other woman hesitated for moment before Janine's face became more urgent. 'For God's sake woman, my daughter's in there.'

Rekha gave in, leaving Abe and hurrying over to undo Janine's cuffs. The moment Guardian Hathaway was freed she burst through the ballroom doors, followed by the man who had been guarding her. When Rekha returned to Abe she gave him a warning look.

'Not you. You're not one of us,' she cautioned him, gripping his elbow firmly, before freezing in shock as Abe slipped his other hand around to grab her throat, his open handcuffs dangling from one wrist.

'You're right, sweetheart. I'm not one of you and I don't have to play by your rules. And if you and your friend over there,' he indicated to the Guardian that was holding me in place, 'don't let me go without a fight, I'll be more than happy to send one of my… associates to make your acquaintance later. The people who work for me are very loyal and will carry out any action I deem necessary,' he said threateningly, squeezing his fingers tighter around her wind-pipe. 'Janine Hathaway isn't the only one who'd do anything to help her child,' he finished coldly, and the second the poor woman nodded her consent Abe was gone.

'Follow him,' Rekha choked out to the man that was guarding me, leaving just the two of us alone in the lobby.

'Are you alright?' I stepped up to her carefully, looking at the bruises that were already coming up on the pale skin of her neck. 'Do you need medical attention?'

She clutched her throat, trying to steady her breathing before gasping out a reply. 'Who was that… piece… of shit?'

She was going to be fine.

'Rekha,' I took another step closer. 'I'm not going to hurt your or threaten you, but I need you to release me. I'm a trained Guardian. I've killed countless Strigoi. I'm a wasted asset out here…'

And that's when the gunshot rang out. Then another. And another.

'Now!' I commanded her, and she fumbled with the keys, hurrying to undo my restraints.

Pushing into the ballroom, the scene in front of me was a Guardian's worst nightmare. Everybody had hit the floor as soon as gunshots were fired, and royals in their evening best were sprawled on top of one another, huddling together in frightened heaps. Guardians swooped down, shielding their charges with their bodies, while others surged forwards, wresting the gun from Tasha Ozera's hands and roughly seizing the Moroi, who was still kicking and screaming defiantly as she struggled to get away.

And in the centre of it all, Rose lay on the ground half-cradled in the arms of Princess Vasilisa, as Dimitri bent over her crumpled body, stroking her hair and urging her to open her eyes, his other hand pressed over the wound in her chest to staunch the flow of blood that trickled steadily out onto the floor.

Rose! I ran towards her, hoping I could do something – anything – to help, but strong arms seized me and I was dragged back, away from the friends who'd given me my world back, the friends I cared about so much.

A pair of Guardians hustled me back into the lobby – different faces to the ones that took me before – and this time they didn't stop there.

'Time to go Guardian Tanner,' one of them ordered, dragging me to the main doors and leading me through the crowd outside. I barely saw them, or heard their panicked, angry cries as I passed through the gauntlet, thinking only of the horror inside the ballroom.

'Rosemarie Hathaway,' I choked out. 'Is she dead?'

'She was breathing when I saw her,' the other Guardian answered, shoving me into a waiting car.

I thought I was being taken to The Fort, but the driver took an unexpected turn and we were soon parked outside a familiar building.

'Guardian Tanner, I'm placing you under house-arrest… Captain Croft's orders…,' he advised me sternly, hustling me up the stairs to my flat and unlocking the front door with his master key. '…And don't even think about leaving. Someone will be back for you when Hans is ready to commence interrogations,' the man said, pushing me into the room before slamming the door behind me and locking it from the outside.

I stood there for a moment, staring blindly at the blank wall opposite me as I tried to process what had just happened, when I was startled by a movement from the bedroom. I flinched, blinking quickly to refocus my eyes, and there in front of me was an angel. The light in my darkness. My Sonechka.

(Sonya POV)

When Mikhail didn't come home I turned on the radio to distract myself, but for once the music didn't help to calm my nerves. Changing tactics, I selected a book from the shelf above the writing desk and wandered into Misha's room to sit on his bed. The small, leather-bound journal intrigued me, and when I turned the well-worn cover it fell open in my hands to a page that had been viewed so many times the binding had weakened – it was a picture, carefully cut out from another book and pasted onto the centre of the page. The Kiss. I took Misha to see this painting in a Spirit dream – it was the last time I saw him before… My eyes welled with longing for him and I flicked to another page quickly before dropping the book, startled by a sound at the door.

He's home.

Tucking the journal out of sight I made my way out into the living room, but when I saw the man in the doorway I stopped. Misha was more than tired. He was in shock – his face creased with worry and his aura so murky it was nearly black.

'What's happened? Is everyone alright?' I asked warily, my brows drawn in concern.

Mikhail looked across at me like I was a mirage. 'Sonechka,' was all he managed before I was at his side, reaching up to stroke the tired lines on his face.

'What is it, Misha? Are you okay?'

His arms snaked around me and he drew me close. 'It's over now,' he murmured into my hair. He seemed badly shaken, and when he spoke it was like he was trying to reassure himself as much as me. 'We did it. We made them hear the truth... At one point I thought we weren't going to make it. Rose got hurt – badly – but she's alive as far as I know. I hope to God she's going to pull through.' Misha shook his head as if to rid himself of the troubling images then pulled back slightly to look at me, settling his hands lightly on my waist. 'Anyway, it's done now, and I came back to you just like I promised.'

'Of course you did,' I whispered, seeing his aura begin to clear. 'And I'm not going anywhere either,' I assured him, sliding my hands up to rest on the lapels of his jacket.

Mikhail gazed down at me steadily, his eyes tracing over my face in wordless wonder, unable to believe we were really together at last.

'Welcome home, Misha,' I smiled softly, reaching up to kiss his cheek as I loosened his bow tie before drawing him over to the couch.

'Shoes,' I instructed him gently and he obeyed, removing his polished boots and socks, pausing every few moments to look up to make sure I was still there.

'Jacket,' I ordered when he was finished, pulling him up from the seat to help him remove the formal suit coat, my pulse quickening as I saw the fabric of his starched white shirt straining to contain his broad shoulders and muscular arms.

'Belt.'

He stepped forward silently, his eyes never leaving mine as I reached out to undo the buckle, drawing the leather slowly through each loop and tossing it on the arm of the couch next to the discarded jacket.

'Better?' I asked, when the outer constraints of his uniform were gone.

'Better,' he answered huskily, the tiredness in his expression gradually melting away as he stared at me – without any shame, without any haste.

Misha's eyes roved slowly over my face and body, drinking in each detail. As his gaze moved from my eyes to my lips, he lifted his hand and reached out a single finger to trace the frame of my face, and I tilted my head ever so slightly, closing my eyes as he followed the loose sweep of my hair down my neck, past my collar bone and brushing over my right breast until his finger hooked through the loop of silk at my waist.

'Belt,' he whispered, tugging gently at the bow and it came loose immediately, slipping to the floor.

My eyes were still closed but I knew Misha was looking at me, and I shivered in pleasure as two broad hands came to rest on my waist, sliding down the silken fabric to the curve of my hips and drawing me firmly against his body. I tipped my head up, anticipating his kiss, but it didn't come. What was he waiting for? My eyelids fluttered open, and when Misha gazed into the deep blue of my eyes I saw something sacred, fierce and primal trigger inside him, and he dropped his lips to mine.

In that moment, nothing else mattered – lost time, lost dreams, lost souls – none of it mattered, because now we were together again.

There was nothing delicate about Misha's kiss, and his tongue searched my mouth greedily as his arms tightened around me. I responded immediately, my urgency matching his, gripping the back of his shirt with a shudder of wanton desire as he dipped his head, pushing my hair back to nuzzle hungrily at my neck.

'I have waited for you… for so long,' he whispered roughly, lifting me up and carrying me to the bedroom. 'I can't wait even one minute longer.'

I couldn't stop him. I didn't want to stop him. I was already ready and aching for him. Whatever he wanted to do to me, I was his to conquer.

(Mikhail POV)

'I need to see you. I need to see all of you,' I growled softly, as I laid her on the bed and came to kneel between her legs, placing my palms on the hem of her dress and sliding it slowly upwards, revealing her heavenly thighs one inch at a time.

I paused when I saw only a hint of lace, my heart beginning to race. It was more than I could handle, but it still wasn't enough. I wanted all of her. I eyed the long row of buttons as the silk that clung to her chest rose and fell with each ragged breath. Too many, I thought, preparing to rip the garment from top to bottom, but Sonya cried out in alarm.

'No…,' she gasped, her hand flying to the top of the dress and I pulled back instantly, ashamed I'd let my desires take control of me without considering her needs or boundaries. '…It's the only thing I own,' she finished weakly.

I raised an eyebrow in disbelief. That was all? I thought I'd pushed her too fast. I could buy her another dress. Hell, I'd buy her ten dresses... But the look on her face was a picture of such sweet dismay I resolved not to be selfish.

'It's a very nice dress,' I admitted huskily, undoing the top button and planting a kiss on her chest before moving to the second, nuzzling my face between her breasts when the fabric fell open at my touch.

She arched up against my lips as I continued my descent, my own desires building as I rubbed my face against the creamy skin of her stomach, teasing her with my stubble until I reached the top of her lacy underwear. I paused there, trying to pace myself, but just then Sonya squirmed in anticipation, urging me onwards, and I caught the scent of her arousal. Any last threads of control were gone in an instant and I hastily unfastened the final two buttons, letting the silk fabric trickle off her body like water.

'It's not possible,' I breathed, feasting my eyes on every plane and curve. 'You're more perfect than I remember.'

I reached out with longing, trailing the back of my fingers over her stomach towards her waist and hips until my hand came to rest on the triangle of dusky pink lace that barred my way.

She shook her head, a faint smile on her lips. 'Your pants first, Misha,' she reminded me, and I looked down to see that while she was nearly naked, I was still wearing most of my clothes. 'Here, let me,' she rose up to kneel opposite me, slipping her arms from the sleeves of her dress and tossing it to the floor before reaching out to undo my button and zip.

Sliding the trousers down to ride low on my hips, Sonya's eyes lit up wickedly as she untucked my shirt, taking a moment to explore my lower back before dipping one hand under the waistband of my boxers and drawing it around to the front. When she clutched me in her palm I groaned in satisfaction at her touch, my already swollen manhood tensing to its limit and aching with desire. Knowing I couldn't hold on much longer, my mouth sought hers once more and I reached around to release the clips on her bra. Spurred on by Sonya's breathless whimpers, my hands crept back to cup her breasts, pinching and rolling the velvet crests until they were as hard as I was.

'Enough, Sonechka,' I choked out when the waves of pleasure threatened to overwhelm me. 'I need you now.'

My hands slid down quickly, dragging her delicate panties to her knees, and when she lay back to remove them the rest of the way I nearly fell over the edge just seeing the moist, tawny down between her legs.

'Hurry Misha,' she pleaded, her breaths quick and shallow, reaching down to stroke herself as she watched me free myself from my pants.

Feeling myself pulsing with anticipation, I fixed my eyes on hers and brought myself in line with her body. The moment I brushed myself against her core her beautiful warmth and wetness filled me with an immediate need to be closer than skin, closer than breathing, and when I heard her urgent demand I buried myself deeply within her, filling her again and again as desire turned to ecstasy and ecstasy to completion. Feeling her tighten around me, I gave one last thrust and cried out in sweet surrender, the release radiating through me with such intense power that all thoughts flew from my mind except one – Sonya… my Sonechka.

We lay together for a long time afterwards, no words necessary as I traced random patterns on her skin and her fingers continued to explore my body, caressing my chest, my hair, my face. She'd just slipped her hand lower, running it meaningfully along my inner thigh when I completely ruined the moment and the silence was shattered by a loud grumble from my stomach. I felt mortified but Sonya lifted her head off my chest with a grin and stripped the top sheet from the bed, wrapping herself in a makeshift toga. The playful gleam in her eye had me burning with desire, but she took one look at my growing arousal then giggled like a school-girl and took off towards the kitchen with me in hot pursuit.

'Shall we take care of your other appetite first?' she suggested coyly, ignoring my attempts to distract her as she carried several platters of food into the lounge room, then finally perched herself on the edge of the couch and beckoned for me to join her.

We shared food and stories, catching up on years-worth of news until my Roman goddess rose and reached across me to slice a wheel of camembert, causing the sheet to accidently slip from her shoulder. I gazed unashamedly at the firm breast that dangled before me, letting my eyes rest on the glistening ruby bud before I leaned forward slowly and captured it in my lips. The knife Sonya had been holding clattered to the floor and she gasped in surprise and pleasure as I suckled attentively at the exquisite swollen peak. When I released her from my mouth, our eyes met for the briefest moment before I scooped her up in my arms. We collapsed back onto the bed and revelled in one another's bodies until we finally gave in to sleep, thoroughly exhausted and satisfied beyond any measure.

Author's Note:

Ahhh... it felt good to get that off my chest!

As far as I could tell, Mikhail and Sonya's characters aren't mentioned again in Last Sacrifice once Mikhail gets dragged away (at the end of my chapter 50) so everything from chapter 51 on is my original interpretation of how things might have happened after that!

* Ballroom scene - Like the lobby idea? This gave me a chance to summarise the key points of Rose's speech while giving an insight into how Mikhail, Abe & Janine would be reacting to the drama. It was especially fun exploring Abe/Janine's characters as I've only mentioned them in passing so far.

* The Extended Lemon - I wanted to tell this scene from both perspectives to show how Sonya & Mikhail each viewed the reunion (the last lemon was very Sonya focused & I think the male perspective gives it a little something extra)... Plus, you've been waiting a while for this scene to so why rush?! If you're into crafting interesting lemons, I found this amazing webpage that's given me some great ideas: The free online book is called "Sex in the Romance: A Review of Romantic Encounters of the Close Kind" by John L. Ferri